At a glance

Your chance to

At a glance

7 nights hotels, all en suite All hotels have swimming pools

Travel by private bus or minibus

Reasonable fitness required

A week experiencing the very best of the Island of Serendipity, Sri Lanka.

With so much diversity Sri Lanka has enough to keep even the most jaded traveller engrossed for several weeks. For those with less time, however, this trip visits the essential highlights. The island is packed with Buddhist cities, fragrant spice gardens, ancient fortresses and a multitude of temples all set amongst the verdant flora that only a tropical climate can produce. With a cycle trip and a safari to see elephants in their natural habitat, this is a busy itinerary but with enough time to unwind and enjoy some tropical sun.

Itinerary

Show detailed itinerary

1Day 1Start Wattala.

The group flight arrives at Colombo's Katunayake Airport in the afternoon and we transfer to our hotel at Wattala on the coast. The rest of the day is free to relax at the hotel and recover from the flight. Those not flying with the group will meet us at the hotel.See more images and videos

2Day 2Game drive to see elepants in their natural habitat

Today we travel to Giritale, where we will stop in one of three parks, either the Kaudulla or Minneriya National Park or the Hurulu Eco Park for a game drive. We will take to jeeps to explore the park and enjoy elephants in their natural habitats.
We then continue onto Giritale itself where we will overnight. Our hotel overlooks the Giritale Tanks – the island’s early inhabitants solved the dual problem of heat and lack of water in this dry area by constructing these large tanks to act as reservoirs and to help cool the air. Nowadays these provide an important habitat for birdlife. Particularly between April and August.See more images and videos

3Day 3Cycle trip to Dambalawewa Lake with a village lunch.

Today we take to bikes and cycle at a leisurely pace through a series of small villages to Dambalawewa Lake. We should see plenty of bird life including Egrets, Brahmany Kites, Kingfishers, Bulbuls. Stopping for lunch in a traditional village will break up the journey. In the late afternoon we return to our hotel in Giritale.See more images and videos

After breakfast we take a short drive to Polonnaruwa, the ancient capital of the Sinhalese. Here there are many Buddhist relics and ruins dating from a thousand years ago when Sinhalese culture reached its zenith. Polonnaruwa flourished in the 12th century after the decision was made to move the capital from Anuradhapura so it was further away from the incursions from southern India. We visit many of the temples, palaces, huges dagobas and remarkable Buddhist sculptures. After lunch we drive on to Sigiriya about an hour away. This impressive 5th century rock fortress rises 180m from the plains overlooking the surrounding countryside giving far-reaching views. Used as a safe haven from invaders, the route to the top is up a series of steep steps and gangways. From the base, where a moat surrounds impressive water gardens, we ascend 200m, passing an overhanging rock under which superb portraits of native maidens holding flowers and temple offerings still adorn the rock wall. Crowning the flat-topped summit of the rock are remains of the King's Summer Palace from where there are breath-taking views of the surrounding countryside. The descent is much easier and you can cool off in the hotel pool at dusk.

Today we head into the hills to the picturesque town of Kandy. On the way we stop at Dambulla, famous for its cave temple, one of Sri Lanka’s most impressive sights. There are colourful, well preserved paintings and statues of the Buddha inside, some of which date back as far as the 1st century BC.
Kandy is located on a small lake and we spend time in and around the town. Visiting the Temple of the Tooth, which houses Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic. The Tooth of Buddha which was taken from the funeral pyre in 543 BC and only found its way to Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD. There are literally hundreds of worshipers who visit the temple each day and in July/August the most spectacular ceremony takes place. Some of our trips in July/August should coincide with the Kandy festival, but the exact dates, decided by priests (depending on the auspicious time), are not known until 5 months prior to the event. We drive to a beautiful viewpoint to get a great view of Kandy and its environs that are overlooked by a huge Buddha and visit a gem museum where you can see the products of the traditional methods of gem extraction. In the evening we may have the chance to attend a performance of the athletic Kandian Dancing and fire walking.

6Day 6Free day to explore Kandy; optional day excursion to Knuckles rainforest.

Today you are free to explore Kandy at your leisure or take an optional excursion to Knuckles Rainforest (including Lunch). This mountain range is so named due to its formation that resembles the knuckles of a clenched fist. They loom 1860m above the Dumbara Valley. The surrounding areas have been declared as a strict natural reserve. A large variety of indigenous plants, not found elsewhere, are found in this area. Return to Kandy in the evening.See more images and videos

7Day 7To Wattala via tea plantation and Peradeniya Botanical Gardens.

Today we proceed to Wattala via tea plantation, and Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, with has species of orchid and other plants unique to Sri Lanka. We will arrive at our hotel in the evening.See more images and videos

8Day 8End Wattala.

If you are travelling on the group flight we will have a morning transfer to the airport for the daytime flight to London. The arrangements for those not flying with the group ends after check out.See more images and videos

Your images

Guided Group

This is a small group guided holiday. The group is usually between 4 and 16 in size, with an average of 12 like-minded clients booking individually, in a couple or as friends together.

Activity level

You are healthy, enjoy the outdoors and want a relaxing trip. No experience is required.

What's included

What's included

All breakfasts and 1 lunch

All accommodation (see below)

All transport and listed activities

Tour leader throughout

Flights from London (if booking incl. flights)

What's not included

Travel insurance

Single accommodation (available on request)

Visas or vaccinations

Accommodation details

Hotels

You will spend 7 nights in en suite hotels. All are off a good standard and have swimming pools.

Single rooms are available for a supplement from GBP210.

Essential info

Vaccinations and Visa
A visa (Electronic Travel Authorisation) is required if you are British and for most other nationalities. If you do not hold a British passport, please check the visa requirements with your local Sri Lankan Embassy or the ETA website www.eta.gov.lk. Passengers should also be aware of local laws and customs in Sri Lanka (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka/local-laws-and-customs). The mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is an offence; please note that people have been refused entry to Sri Lanka because of visible tattoos of Buddha.
There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. Recommended vaccinations are: Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis A. The risk of malaria is slight but you may wish to consult your GP or travel health clinic for further advice. Dengue fever is a known risk in places visited. It is a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for Dengue, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Holiday style

This is not a demanding trip although there are some long drives on bumpy and twisty mountain roads as well as some busy days; this is an itinerary where we attempt to show you as much as possible in your short time in Sri Lanka. Temperatures can vary between the tropical heat of the coast to the cooler hill country. All of the hotels have swimming pools. There are a few long drives, but the buses are comfortable and air-conditioned and the trip is generally relaxed and undemanding.

Eating & drinking

All breakfasts and 1 lunch is included during the trip. Other meals are not included; we suggest allowing about GBP15 (approx. USD25) per day for these meals.

Trip notes

Download the detailed trip notes for everything you could possibly want
to know about this trip, including detailed itinerary and full kit list.

Weather & seasonality

Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with two distinct wet seasons or monsoons. The SW monsoon brings rain to that area of the island between May and August. The NE monsoon takes place from October to January and only really affects the north and east coastal regions. Generally, you should expect rain at some time but with plenty of sunshine. On the plains, day and night time temperatures are warm to hot with Colombo having an average daytime temperature of 30degC. The temperatures drop as we go higher into the hills.

Gallery

Reviews & community

An excellent introduction to Sri Lanka combining culture and wildlife.

What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

We loved the climb up Lion's Rock. Beautiful views and just a gorgeous setting. We also thoroughly enjoyed the cycle ride - a great opportunity to see the real Sri Lanka

What did you think of your group leader?

Sujee was wonderful, very helpful and informative.

Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

Some of the journeys were quite long, and be prepared for some long days with not a huge amount of free time. But on the plus side you do feel like you're making the most of your time. Food was excellent but there are a lot of buffets. Would definitely advise taking a few days before/after holiday to relax - we visited the west coast which was lovely.
It gets colder at the tea plantations so bring a jumper.

A wonderful country with such a mixture of sights, sounds, culture and history to explore. The people of Sri Lanka are so friendly and meet you with a smile. Having not travelled outside Europe, nor anywhere for about 7 years, I was very anxious about what would happen, but the whole trip was a joy and an experience I will never forget.

What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

The most inspirational part of the trip for me was making the climb to the mountain fortress of Sigiriya. This was a personal mission for me as I am scared of heights and a year ago would have been too unfit to make it to the top. But the feeling of achievement to have got to the top was amazing and the views were incredible.

From a more enjoyment point of view, the cycle ride following the small village route through the paddy fields was the best part of the holiday for me. Children would run out as we passed to say hi and practice their English, and we stopped for a coconut milk drink before having a traditional lunch at a farmhouse. It was a perfect morning.

What did you think of your group leader?

Our group leader was very knowledgeable about the history of his country, and kept us informed about that would be on the itenary both that day and the day after so we could plan our time. His English was fairly good, so we got the right historical information most of the time, and it helped that one of our group had a Lonely Planet book to supplement the historic info when needed. He was friendly and couldn't be more helpful - though he was evidently trying to please everyone all of the time, and could have done with a little confidence to say "no" when necessary.

Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

Take mosquito spray - it wasn't too bad for me, and the weather for us was very good, but if it rains I can see there being a lot of insects flying around.

Take a copy of a Sri Lankan guide with you - Lonely Plant or Rough Guide - to supplement your tour guide's historical information.

Use the hotel safes where possible for valuables. It doesn't feel like a place where you will get robbed, but one of our group had a moblie nicked from thier room. A one off and our tour guide was most shocked, but the tourist police and hotel were most unhelpful.

Note that the Temple of the Tooth gets VERY packed with people, who shove together and push you from one place to another at the time when the shrine doors are opened. It's an experience, but if you suffer from panic attacks or heart problems, think again about going into the crowd. It's not something I've ever experienced before and was a bit uncomfortable.

Note that the elephant orphanage is not what I first expected. It is a bit of a circus with elephants chained up most of the day and the babies feeding time was very distressing for me as they chained the babies apart and they were clearly not happy at all. However, to see them bathing in the waters together in the river as a herd for 2 hours in the evening was brilliant and they looked calm and happier.

If you get the chance - as I did - spend some time in Kandy in the shops and wandering round the busy town. The indoor market is also the place to go for cheaper versions of oils, herbs and spices which were sold at a very expensive price in the spice garden we visited separately.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

This is a full-on packed trip with a tour of the important cultural and historical sites within the centre of Sri Lanka. It's a wonderful introduction to such a beautiful country and I would recommend it to anyone.

Questions about your trip

Pick your question

What is the standard of hotels like in Sri Lanka?

All hotels have en suite bathrooms and towels are always provided as well. The standard and décor depends on whether it is “comfortable”, “standard” or “basic” hotel but they are all perfectly fine. The “basic” ones may not have internet access or 24hour reception but they will feel more authentic and local!

Charlotte Taylor - Customer Operations

What kind of footwear is suitable for Sri Lanka?

It’s best to bring both light trainers and flip-flops or sandals in the dry season and something waterproof for the wet season. Some solid trainers should suffice.

Gabriela Krizanova - Sales

Do you have any advice about malaria and rabies?

Unfortunately we are not qualified to answer all your questions in regards to travel health, so we strongly recommend you contact your GP or a Travel Health Clinic at least 8 weeks prior to departure for up-to-date information.

Nomad Travel Clinics are experts in preparing people for travel, providing advice on vaccinations, anti-malarial and staying healthy whilst overseas. We have arranged a special 10% discount for Exodus passengers on any vaccinations that you may require! Take along your Nomad discount card, sent with your confirmation pack, or call Exodus for your special discount code.Visit www.nomadtravel.co.uk/exodus for further information.

Sri Lanka articles

Staff member Gabriela Krizanova travelled out to Sri Lanka with Exodus and you can read her article here to get a personal viewpoint of the country

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